Reducing Inequality through Dynamic Complementarity: Evidence from Head Start and Public School Spending
研究发现，对贫困儿童而言，“启智计划”和K-12教育支出均能提高教育程度和收入、减少贫困和监禁，且两者存在动态互补效应：早期投资若得到后续支持，效果更佳。
We compare the adult outcomes of cohorts who were differentially exposed to policy-induced changes in Head Start and K–12 spending, depending on place and year of birth. IV and sibling-difference estimates indicate that, for poor children, these policies both increased educational attainment and earnings, and reduced poverty and incarceration. The benefits of Head Start were larger when followed by access to better-funded schools, and increases in K–12 spending were more efficacious when preceded by Head Start exposure. The findings suggest dynamic complementarities, implying that early educational investments that are sustained may break the cycle of poverty.